The radical Right plays by different rules by Frances Moore Lappe
Dear Friends,
The following piece is excerpted from a longer post by Lappe. In it, she details the Machievellian philosophy that underlies radical Right political fighting. It is dirty, deceitful, and anything goes. The reign of Bush, put in office by such tactics, is the opposite of what the returning Christ will bring. This should be made clear to the misguided Christians who voted for Bush, thinking that he will establish God's kingdom.
Justice shall flower in His days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
Psalm 72: 7
In the name of the Prince of Peace, Carol Wolman
The radical Right plays by different rules
by Frances Moore Lappe.
The radical Right plays by different rules. In this, David Brock's
book Blinded by the Right was my wake-up call. Because Brock was not so
long ago a radical right-wing insider himself, his experiences inside
this mean-spirited, ends-justify-means mindset of this group is -
chillingly - convincing. He depicts people willing go to any lengths,
including lying (as did Brock himself in his character assassination of
Anita Hill) in order to vanquish enemies. (See his new book: The
Republican Noise Machine)
In 2000, leading Republican Congressman, Majority Whip Tom DeLay
distributed a pamphlet to all his Republican colleagues entitled The Art
of Political War: How Republicans Can Fight to Win. Its author David
Horowitz writes, "Politics is war conducted by other means. In political
warfare you do not fight just to prevail in an argument, but to destroy
the enemy's fighting ability.In political wars, the aggressor usually
prevails." (Read more in Banana Republicans)
On his final episode of Now, Bill Moyers spoke with Richard Viguerie, a
founding father of the modern conservative movement and author of
America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media
to Take Power. Viguerie couldn't have described the Right's
Macheivellian outlook more succinctly, speaking about the vicious
pre-election attacks on Kerry:
"I just wish he [Bush] could have done a little bit more [against
Kerry]. I thought it was just great. And we're not gonna play, Bill, by
the liberal establishment's rules. They say, 'This is acceptable and
this is not acceptable.' Those days are gone and gone forever."
I got my own taste of Viguerie's anything-goes world, where the facts
are irrelevant and, as he told Moyers, all journalism "is opinion."
Campaigning in late October for Lois Murphy, who challenged incumbent
Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania's 6h district, I
experienced the power of a lie. Gerlach campaign telephone message ads
linked Murphy to the Taliban (MoveOn supports her, MoveOn "supports" the Taliban, ergo Murphy = Taliban-lover). Who would swallow that, I
thought, especially since Murphy is a feminist? But.it worked. "Are you
with the Taliban lady?" said a potential voter when I approached his
door. He threatened to set his dog on me.
Most Americans would be appalled - if they knew: There's no evidence the
majority of Americans approve this ends-justify-means, destroy-the-enemy
approach.
book Blinded by the Right was my wake-up call. Because Brock was not so
long ago a radical right-wing insider himself, his experiences inside
this mean-spirited, ends-justify-means mindset of this group is -
chillingly - convincing. He depicts people willing go to any lengths,
including lying (as did Brock himself in his character assassination of
Anita Hill) in order to vanquish enemies. (See his new book: The
Republican Noise Machine)
In 2000, leading Republican Congressman, Majority Whip Tom DeLay
distributed a pamphlet to all his Republican colleagues entitled The Art
of Political War: How Republicans Can Fight to Win. Its author David
Horowitz writes, "Politics is war conducted by other means. In political
warfare you do not fight just to prevail in an argument, but to destroy
the enemy's fighting ability.In political wars, the aggressor usually
prevails." (Read more in Banana Republicans)
On his final episode of Now, Bill Moyers spoke with Richard Viguerie, a
founding father of the modern conservative movement and author of
America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media
to Take Power. Viguerie couldn't have described the Right's
Macheivellian outlook more succinctly, speaking about the vicious
pre-election attacks on Kerry:
"I just wish he [Bush] could have done a little bit more [against
Kerry]. I thought it was just great. And we're not gonna play, Bill, by
the liberal establishment's rules. They say, 'This is acceptable and
this is not acceptable.' Those days are gone and gone forever."
I got my own taste of Viguerie's anything-goes world, where the facts
are irrelevant and, as he told Moyers, all journalism "is opinion."
Campaigning in late October for Lois Murphy, who challenged incumbent
Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania's 6h district, I
experienced the power of a lie. Gerlach campaign telephone message ads
linked Murphy to the Taliban (MoveOn supports her, MoveOn "supports" the Taliban, ergo Murphy = Taliban-lover). Who would swallow that, I
thought, especially since Murphy is a feminist? But.it worked. "Are you
with the Taliban lady?" said a potential voter when I approached his
door. He threatened to set his dog on me.
Most Americans would be appalled - if they knew: There's no evidence the
majority of Americans approve this ends-justify-means, destroy-the-enemy
approach.
posted by carol wolman @ 10:27 PM
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